Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Post Brexit – angry and sad

I have not blogged for some months. Everything seemed too
awful or too trivial and every time I sat down to write I was immediately
stuck.

However, in the UK a
momentous referendum was held last week and we will be leaving the European
Union.David Cameron, the Prime
Minister, has resigned – whether you think the “Remain” campaign was good or
not, it was his campaign and he, quite rightly, doesn’t think that he should be
the person to negotiate the exit.

The Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, failed to
lead the party: although the policy was to "Remain", his attitude convinced many people that he was for “Leave” as
he always has been and, as I write, more than half his Shadow Cabinet have
resigned and there has been an overwhelming vote of no confidence today –
172:40. He has said “I’m not going anywhere” – well that can be interpreted two
ways.

Why am I angry?I am
not angry because I voted “Remain” for the future of this country, peace in
Europe and particularly for my children and grandchildren but my side lost in a
democratic vote.I am angry because I am
now told that it’s my generation’s fault. The actual demographics of the
referendum are not known – they are assumed and the assumption is that most
people over the age of 60 voted Leave and 75% of 18 – 25 year olds voted to
Remain – that is when they voted.The
older generation traditionally have a high turnout and some sources have quoted
that under 40% of the younger generation actually voted – but it’s all our fault.
This is quite a good article How
did different demographic groups vote in the EU Referendum

I am over 60, draw a pension and am white – therefore the
assumption is I voted Leave – wrong.I
am also an immigrant and Jewish. The first is significant because some
immigrants have been told to go back where they came from (usually not English speaking
or white) and the second because the referendum campaign unleashed a rash of
racism – it almost seemed to give ‘permission’ to people to express suppressed
racism – and the Jews are always targets in the end.

A wonderful, gifted young woman Labour MP, Jo Cox, was shot
dead outside her constituency office (by a white Christian, British born man – given the
events in Orlando, this is significant).She believed in the EU and was campaigning for “Remain”.Parliament was recalled, there were emotional
scenes in the House of Commons and all party leaders went to her constituency
to pay tribute to her.

But, one week later, last night, at a rally by the left of
the Labour Party (although most placards seemed to be for the Socialist
Workers’ Party) John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor, said:

"Now
a number of MPs have complained that people have been turning up in
demonstrations to express their view. Some have described it as rabble, or mob
rule or whatever. Let me be clear. People have the right to peaceful protest.
The protests will be peaceful, but the reason the protests are taking place is
that we will not allow a handful of MPs to subvert Jeremy’s mandate."

They haven’t been peaceful and MPs and their staff
have complained of being threatened and harassed. The “handful" of MPs – 172 against
40!

This charming individual was at the rally - look how thrilled the young people on either side are about what is on the t-shirt.

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About Me

I have left the world of full-time work behind. In 2011 I was the first woman to be Master of the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers about which I wrote extensively. I am on the Court and active in the Company, chairing the Charity Committee.
In July 2016 I was appointed Chair of the Trustees of the Institute of Health Visiting and will no doubt write about the amazing work that they do.
I consult to charities, particularly on strategy and governance and the challenges of managing small and medium sized charities.
I started this blog when I was running a breast cancer research charity and blogged mostly about that. I now cover a range of topics plus the occasional rant! Any unwise comments in this blog are my own!
I welcome comments but don't publish them - you can contact me through LinkedIn.